I've recently converted part of the wild field that was my back garden,
into vegetable beds. I dug in a fair amount of last year's compost into the
clayey soil, but I think the soil still needs more organic matter, as it is
still rather sticky. It's also very alkaline due to the limestone shale
substrate.

I have just been given a good quantity of horse stable manure. As there is
still a good few weeks before I start planting, will I be OK to dig the
manure into the soil without composting it? It appears to be predominantly
part-digested hay with some urine-soaked hay mixed in. It all appears to be
a good few weeks old. It's not like the well-digested horse droppings that
you tyipcally find on the road where horse-riders have been.

TIA

Jim